The present invention is directed to pressure relief valves. More particularly the invention is directed to pressure relief valves with a moveable outlet. Pressure relief valves may be used with compressors, engines, or other systems where pressure needs to be managed.
Pressure relief valves are used to relieve pressure in a pressure vessel or associated component. A relief valve includes an inlet for receiving a fluid (e.g., air, water, petrol, etc.) and an outlet through which the fluid is discharged. The outlet is typically connected to a piping system. When relief valves are installed in pressure vessel systems, the outlet may not be aligned as desired with the piping system. Typically, relief valves are installed by threadably engaging the inlet with the pressure vessel system. The inlet may have threads that conform to a National Pipe Thread Taper standard for a tapered thread (hereinafter “NPT threads”), a Society of Automotive Engineers standard for a straight thread (hereinafter “SAE threads”), or another thread standard, as desired. Relief valves also may be connected via other means to the pressure vessel system (e.g., quick connections, soldering, snap connections, etc.).
In the case of a relief valve whose inlet has NPT threads, the outlet is aligned with the piping system by adjusting one or more fitting joints to orient the outlet in a desired direction. However, such adjustments require frequent loosening and retightening of the fitting joints which is labor intensive and time consuming. Additional labor and time is also needed to ensure that joint seal integrity is maintained. In the case of a relief valve whose inlet has SAE threads, the relief valve is installed by rotatably engaging the inlet into the threaded hole of the pressure vessel system until contact is made between the inlet and a bottom of the threaded hole (i.e., the inlet “bottoms out”) in order to form a seal. However, adjustment of the orientation of the outlet after the inlet bottoms would compromise the seal and thus is not desirable. This requires that the piping system be specifically configured to adapt to the orientation of the outlet which increases costs. In other words, conventional relief valves prohibit or mitigate the use of SAE connections on relief valve inlets where outlet direction is important.
Currently, if a directional outlet is desirable, the convention is to use NPT threads on inlet connections of relief valves and deal with the labor associated with adjusting multiple joints or potentially over tightening or under tightening joints. In cases where SAE inlet connections are required, the plumbing installation out of the relief valve becomes more cumbersome. In response to these problems, many simply avoid applications where directing outlet discharge is required or they are forced spend a lot of time adjusting installation joints (loosening and retightening or over tightening to achieve pointing discharge of valve in desired direction).
In view of the above noted and other deficiencies, a better directional outlet for relief valves is desirable.